Staff Reporter :
4G mobile service in Bangladesh will not be available this year because the mobile phone operators and The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) failed to reach final spectrum price for per Megahertz, sources said.
BTRC has recently dropped per megahertz spectrum fee to Tk 20 crore from Tk 60 crore, but the mobile operators gave
proposal to keep the price at Tk 16 crore per megahertz only.
BTRC slashes licence acquisition fee is dropping to Tk100 million (USD1.22 million) whilst the annual licence fee falls to Tk50 million following a meeting with the Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
A decision was also taken to lift restrictions on the source of funding for the licence auction: The BTRC had earlier recommended making it mandatory to ensure all investment in foreign currency.
Earlier the auction guidelines set a floor bid price of USD30 million per MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands, and USD27 million in the 2100MHz band. Additionally, a USD7.5 million per MHz fee will be levied on operators to convert existing 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM spectrum allocations to technology-neutral for 2G/3G/4G use.
The mobile operators are seeking to re-set the price in all the level also.
4G mobile service in Bangladesh will not be available this year because the mobile phone operators and The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) failed to reach final spectrum price for per Megahertz, sources said.
BTRC has recently dropped per megahertz spectrum fee to Tk 20 crore from Tk 60 crore, but the mobile operators gave
proposal to keep the price at Tk 16 crore per megahertz only.
BTRC slashes licence acquisition fee is dropping to Tk100 million (USD1.22 million) whilst the annual licence fee falls to Tk50 million following a meeting with the Prime Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.
A decision was also taken to lift restrictions on the source of funding for the licence auction: The BTRC had earlier recommended making it mandatory to ensure all investment in foreign currency.
Earlier the auction guidelines set a floor bid price of USD30 million per MHz of spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands, and USD27 million in the 2100MHz band. Additionally, a USD7.5 million per MHz fee will be levied on operators to convert existing 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM spectrum allocations to technology-neutral for 2G/3G/4G use.
The mobile operators are seeking to re-set the price in all the level also.
